With the rapid advancement of technology, androids have come a long way since their early beginnings. Early androids relied heavily on removable storage like SD cards to supplement their limited internal storage. However, as android technology continues to progress, the role and necessity of SD cards have changed. So do modern androids still need or use SD cards?
Brief history of androids and SD cards
The first android phone, the T-Mobile G1 launched in 2008 with just 192MB of internal storage. This extremely limited space made using an external SD card almost a requirement to store apps, photos, videos and other files. Early versions of Android also did not allow you to install apps on the SD card. So the SD card was mainly used for media storage.
The situation improved over the next few years as android phones started coming with 1GB or more internal storage. Android 2.2 also allowed installing apps on the SD card. By Android 4.0, launched in 2011, the OS supported moving apps to SD card to free up internal storage.
So during the early years of android phones, up to around 2011-2012, SD card support was still very critical. Phones came with limited storage, so SD cards were needed to make them usable.
Improved internal storage and cloud storage
From 2012 onwards, android phones started coming with more internal storage. 16GB or 32GB of internal storage became common. Top end phones came with 64GB or even 128GB storage.
Simultaneously, cloud storage services like Google Drive and Dropbox became popular. People could store their photos and videos in the cloud rather than on SD cards.
So from around 2013 onwards, SD card support became less critical for most users. Phones had enough internal storage for apps, photos, videos and files. Any additional storage needs could be met by cloud services.
RAM and internal storage tradeoff
As android phone specifications improved, there was often a tradeoff between RAM and internal storage.
Phone makers could increase internal storage or increase RAM. More RAM improved multitasking performance. But more storage allowed storing more photos, videos and files on the device.
Since most users were comfortable using cloud storage, android phone makers optimized for RAM over internal storage. Many popular devices like the Google Pixel series skipped SD card support and focused on more RAM.
Rise of streaming media
Until around 2012, people stored their media like photos, videos and music on their phones. SD cards were great for expanding storage for media files.
But after that, streaming services like Spotify and Netflix became popular. People no longer needed large local media collections. Most media was streamed over the internet. This reduced the need for SD card storage.
Where SD cards are still useful
While SD cards are not as universally essential as they used to be, they still have some benefits in certain situations:
- For budget android phones with very limited internal storage, an SD card is still useful.
- Photographers and videographers who store large RAW image files and high resolution videos on their phone can benefit from an SD card.
- Travellers who want to watch media on flights or in areas with no internet access can store content on an SD card.
- SD cards allow easily transferring files from other devices like cameras and drones to your phone.
- SD cards give you extra privacy and control over your data. Cloud services store your data on remote servers belonging to the service provider.
- Emerging 5G technology will encourage local storage again as you will be able to download content faster when needed rather than storing it.
SD card technology progression
While usage has reduced, SD card technology has continued improving:
| Year | Max capacity | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| 2009 | 32GB | SDHC standard |
| 2013 | 128GB | SDXC standard |
| 2016 | 1TB | First 1TB card |
| 2022 | 512GB | Typical maximum capacity |
Prices have also dropped steadily, making higher capacities more affordable. A 512GB card currently costs around $60.
Cloud storage limitations
While cloud storage helps reduce reliance on SD cards, it has some limitations:
- You need an active internet connection to access cloud data. SD cards work offline.
- Privacy concerns as your data is on third party servers.
- Slow access time compared to local storage.
- Limited free storage requiring paid subscriptions for more space.
- Uploading large amounts of data to the cloud is slow and uses your internet bandwidth.
Due to these factors, local SD card storage still has benefits compared to cloud storage alone.
Advantages of built-in storage
Compared to expandable SD card storage, onboard storage has some advantages:
- Faster read/write speeds compared to most SD cards.
- Better durability compared to removable SD cards which can get lost or damaged.
- A single storage pool rather than internal storage + SD card.
- Centralized encrypted storage for improved security.
- Hardware is designed for the expected maximum storage.
For these reasons, phone makers prefer built-in storage over microSD expandability.
Do SD cards still matter for androids?
SD card usage has reduced significantly over the years as android phone storage has improved. Cloud storage also reduces reliance on external SD cards.
However, SD cards still offer benefits in some use cases:
- Budget phones with very limited storage
- Storing large media files like photos, videos
- Offline use of media
- Quickly transferring files from other devices
- Keeping control over your data locally
So while they are not as universally essential as before, SD cards still offer useful benefits in many situations. But phones with 128GB or more storage often skip SD support entirely.
With SD card capacities going up into the 1TB range, we may see them become more relevant again in the future. Local high speed storage is still better than the cloud in some cases.
So SD card support remains useful for power users and in budget phones. But mainstream android phones with decent built-in storage are unlikely to need SD support for most consumers.
Conclusion
SD cards played a critical role in early android phones due to very limited internal storage. But as internal storage capacities improved along with cloud storage services, SD cards became less essential for most users.
However, SD cards still offer benefits for power users who need abundant offline storage. They also remain relevant for budget phones with very limited built-in storage.
So while not as universally important as before, SD cards continue to serve an important role in many situations. But they are no longer mandatory for a device to be usable, as was the case with early android phones. Going forward, we may see SD cards become relevant again as very high capacity cards up to 1TB become affordable. But for now, onboard storage remains the priority for android phone makers and users.